The Irascible ProfessorSMIrreverent Commentary
on the State of Education in America Today

by Dr. Mark H. Shapiro

"Let
every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay
any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose
any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This
much we pledge—and more."... ...John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Inaugural Address,
January 20, 1961.

Commentary
of the Day - September 30, 2001: The Knowledge War.

The surprise attack
on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 was a signal event in the history of
the United States. Before that day most Americans felt far removed
from the conflicts raging in Europe and Asia, and most did not want the
nation to become embroiled in those controversies. The surprise attack
made it clear to almost all that our isolationism was no longer tenable,
and a divided nation rallied behind the leadership of FDR.

Pearl Harbor initiated
a paradigm shift in military strategy. It quickly became obvious
that the day of the battleship was over. The aircraft carrier was
the weapon that afforded the Imperial Navy of Japan the element of surprise
at Pearl Harbor. In an instant it became clear that victory or defeat
in the Pacific (and Europe) would hinge in large part on the ability of
the United States to control the skies.

Although the surprise
attack inflicted incredible damage on the battle fleet at Pearl, the Japanese
war lords had miscalculated badly. The few aircraft carriers in the
American Pacific fleet were at sea on December 7th. The failure to
destroy our carriers proved to be a major mistake. Although American
forces suffered numerous defeats during the early days of the war in the
Pacific, the presence of the American carriers and the air power that they
were able to project denied the Japanese a quick and total victory.
That circumstance gave a nation that was weak militarily but strong industrially
the time to arm and to turn the tide of battle.

The Japanese war
lords also totally misread the response of the American nation to the surprise
attack. Instead of further dividing and demoralizing a country that
up to then wanted to avoid conflict, it united the nation as perhaps no
other single event in its history had. In fact, at both ends of the
Axis the resolve of Americans to defend their vital interests had been
sorely underestimated.

Some parallels
can be drawn between the attack on the World Trade Center and the attack
on Pearl Harbor. In both cases the United States was caught napping,
and both attacks inflicted devastating damage and casualties. Until
September 11th we had paid little attention to the actions of international
terrorists although our vulnerabilities should have been obvious given
the warnings provided by the embassy bombings in Africa, and the attack
on USS Cole. Nevertheless, recent conversations about military readiness
had focussed most sharply on more conventional threats.

Again, an almost
instant paradigm shift has occurred. It has become obvious that terrorism
represents a far more significant threat to our vital interests than intercontinental
ballistic missiles. The WTC attack has killed nearly 5,000 innocent
Americans (more than twice the number lost at Pearl Harbor), and nearly
1,000 innocent civilians from some 80 other countries. The attack
has dealt a significant blow to the economy of the United States.
By some estimates the cost to the economy may reach more than $80 billion.
Clearly, the vital interests of the United States have been threatened
by these terrorist acts.

And again, our
foes have seriously misread our resolve. No matter what reasons
-- real or imagined -- that these terrorists may claim to justify their
murderous behavior, their actions show their real intent. Namely,
their inability to tolerate a free society.

Universal access
to education and an unrivaled system of public and private higher education
are pillars upon which our freedom rests. The creativity of a free
and educated citizenry together with our industrial strength proved to
be a formidable combination during World War II. That combination
is stronger than ever. Our ability to make the paradigm shift needed
to fight terrorism has its seeds in that strength.

Success in the
fight against terrorism will depend in large measure on our ability to
obtain and interpret information. We will need to go well beyond
the immense electronic data gathering capacities of our intelligence agencies.
It will be necessary to infiltrate widely dispersed terrorist cells to
obtain the information needed to counter their intentions. The diverse
nature of our population is one key to success in such an effort.

The war against
terrorism is not going to be easy. Fighting terrorism is much like
fighting crime. The victories may not be as decisive as we would
like, but over time it should be possible to disrupt the terrorist networks
to the point where it becomes more and more difficult and costly for them
to launch coordinated attacks on us.

World War II eventually
became known as "the physicists' war" because so many of the weapons used
in W.W.II had their origins in the physics laboratory. The war against
terrorism ultimately may become known as the "knowledge war", because success
will depend critically on how well we can understand both the motivation
and and intentions of the foe.